Thanks to the expansion of its services for start-ups, CzechInvest will guide young, innovative Czech firms on the path to success, from the earliest phases of their development to negotiations with potential investors. The agency offers such companies financial and advisory support through four activities focused on particular phases of start-ups’ development: CzechStarter, CzechDemo, CzechAccelerator and CzechMatch. CzechInvest has more than CZK 142 million available for Czech start-ups.

“We systematically support start-up companies. Each of our activities is focused on a different phase of development, from the very beginning of a company to contact with investors,” says Karel Kučera, CEO of CzechInvest. “At the turn of the year, several selected start-ups exhibited at foreign trade-fairs and we will soon start accepting applications to other programmes.”

CzechStarter, which is the successor of the successful CzechEkoSystem programme, assists start-ups in the initial phase of development. Within CzechStarter, selected start-ups undergo a several-month training programme in the Czech Republic focused on development of their business activities and commercialisation of their products. They are then given the opportunity to travel to Silicon Valley for a two-week programme in which they gain experience and take a look into the ecosystem of a developed market. The initial interested parties will be able to register in CzechStarter in March 2017.

CzechDemo supports participation in foreign events and has already introduced its first six Czech firms to the global start-up community. The first start-ups took part in the TechCrunch Disrupt event in London in December 2016 and the CES trade fair in Las Vegas in January 2017. For this year, CzechInvest is preparing the participation of Czech firms in TechCrunch Disrupt in New York and San Francisco. It is possible to submit applications until 16 February 2017.

“This year we are focusing especially on supporting networking and gaining experience abroad. So that we can better inform the public about the start-up environment and new projects, we have also launched a new website, podporastartupu.cz, where those who are interested can find all important information in one place,” adds Markéta Havlová,director of the Start-Ups Department at CzechInvest.

The successful CzechAccelerator programme, which offers participants office space, mentoring and consulting in foreign business incubators, has been recontinued. Participating start-ups will be able to travel to Silicon Valley, New York, Singapore and London. Registration will begin in March 2017.

CzechInvest arranges meetings between start-ups and potential investors and the expert public at its own events within the CzechMatch activity. More advanced start-ups will present their projects and set up meetings with partners, suppliers and customers. Registration for CzechMatch will also begin in March 2017.

All activities, deadlines for submission of applications and other interesting information are available on the new Czech-language website at www.podporastartupu.cz. An overview of the Czech start-up environment is offered in a new visual and on the Czech-English portal at www.CzechStartups.org.